Paint a Halloween Pumpkin

Paint a Halloween Pumpkin
By Steve Kettle

This year, why not paint a Halloween pumpkin? A painted pumpkin will outlast a carved jack-o-lantern by months and can even be repainted for use as a Thanksgiving decoration. With a little imagination, painting pumpkin faces will become a real family treat.

My wife and I stumbled upon these pumpkin painting ideas quite by accident. A couple of years ago we had the grand kids here in late September. On a whim, we decided to visit a local pumpkin patch and let them pick out a couple of pumpkins to carve for Halloween. The patch had a little stand set up with various fruits and vegetables for sale, along with a nice supply of jams, jellies and preserves. I think that is the main reason my wife wanted to go there! Displayed prominently along the back wall of the fruit stand were several of the cutest painted pumpkins we had ever seen. I told my wife we had better price a couple of them on the way out.

After picking out a few nice sized carving pumpkins we headed back to the stand and were knocked off our feet when the clerk told us the prices for the painted pumpkins. There was nothing less than $40! Most were $50 and up!

That got my creative juices flowing. Our smallest granddaughter had fallen in love with one of the painted faces and I just would not let her down. As soon as we got home I went straight to the internet and was surprised to find relatively few listings for pumpkin painting.

Next was a trip to the library with the same miserable results. I knew there had to be a source for pumpkin painting patterns and ideas, but where was it hidden. Back on the internet I finally stumbled a cross one neat little ebook that included a list of all the necessary paints and patterns I would need. I bought it and had it downloaded and printed within a few minutes. A quick trip to the hardware store for supplies was followed by about an hour of intense artistic endeavor.

You should have seen the look on my grand kid’s faces when I came out of the garage with my first masterpiece! What would have cost over $50 at the pumpkin patch I had slapped together for less than $15. The best part is that I had plenty of paint left over for more pumpkins.

These painted goblins have become quite popular in our neighborhood. Each year, as soon as I begin putting them out for decorations, my phone and doorbell start ringing with requests. It has really become a very profitable hobby.

You do not have to be an expert artist to create some creative spooks and goblins. A little paint and some simple instruction is all you need to paint a Halloween pumpkin.

This year you can be the talk of the town if you learn how to Paint A Halloween Pumpkin. It is EASY and FUN for the entire family. Check out the guide to Pumpkin Painting now!

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Hair Extensions and Synthetic Hair

Hair Extensions and Synthetic Hair
By Andy D Black

Hair extensions are made from one of two materials; real human hair, or synthetic hair. The latter is the cheapest option and is proving fairly popular within the hair extensions industry.

In a nutshell, synthetic hair is basically plastic and will never look as real as human hair. It is however, great for dreadlocks and certain other styles. Synthetic hair is less expensive; however extensions made from human hair tend to give a better result, naturally. Since getting extensions from a salon requires time and money, many people are finding clip-in hair extensions to be the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to have multiple hair looks, and you don’t have to be a Hollywood “It” girl or movie star. Synthetic hair is more fragile, and should be worn as they come, with little tinkering about or styling. You should NEVER use heat (blow dryers, curling irons, or straighteners) or apply too much styling products to synthetic hair.

Synthetic hair is made from man made materials and can be reproduced with very little variation. It can usually be shaped into styles by using the steam from boiling water to set the hair. Also, synthetic hair colours usually run a shade darker than human hair. Synthetic hair is generally used to for bright, funky fashion colours, such as pinks, greens and blues. Generally speaking, if you are wanting to achieve natural looking hair, then you should opt for 100% human hair extensions.

Synthetic hair is very easy to wear, and requires little maintenance. Unlike human hair the synthetic fibres need minimal or no styling after washing. It is made from materials such as nylon, polyester, kankalon or modacrylic and do not respond well to heat or friction. Synthetic hair is also used for manufacturing wigs, hair pieces and one piece pony tails.

Human hair -Usually of Asian descent, is the most versatile of all the hair types. It is available in a huge variety of colours, lengths and grades. Human hair extensions have the advantage of looking more realistic as part of your own hair but are quite a bit more expensive. This is generally because it has been grown and cut off specifically for this purpose, therefore making it more valuable than synthetic hair. It is then cleaned, and processed ready for sale. Human hair extensions can vary in quality as the hair is categorized into grades. The quality depends on the origin of the hair, and the age of the person it has come from. The cheapest hair generally comes from China and other Asian countries, and is thick and originally very dark, prior to processing and colouring.

European hair is one of the best, because of its light weight, strength, texture and high protein content which gives the hair longevity. Indian human remy hair remains the best grade human hair, with what is referred to as ‘virgin’ hair, being the ultimate in human hair for hair extensions.
It is recommended to see both hair types before proceeding with hair extensions to see what you prefer. It all boils down to one thing at the end of the day, and that is personal preference, so a little bit of thought beforehand would be wise.

Article written by Andy Black. A wide range of human and synthetic hair extension products available from Rapunzels Hair Extensions, such as clip in extensions and quality human wefts. A fantastic range of coloured hair streaks and accessories also available to buy.

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Pre-register now!

Our big day is almost here. TrickConTreat 2008 opens the doors to the Halloween season at noon on Friday, October 3rd.

We’ve expanded the convention to a full weekend, and packed it full of ghoulish goodness. 2008 is our Tribute to “B” Movies, which includes screenings of classic “B” movies and new films, with featured viewings hosted by local and regional filmmakers. Friday night at midnight, TrickConTreat and IAO Gallery bring you the greatest “B” movie of them all, the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

This is also the inaugural year of the FlickConTreat Movie Maker’s Race. Filmmaking teams will receive a line of dialog, a prop, and a theme on Friday afternoon, and will film, edit, and show their new film at the convention. If you’ve ever wanted to make a movie for a film festival, this is your chance. The only cost of entry is a weekend membership.

Friday evening you’ll have plenty of choices for things to do, with another Ghost Tour hosted by the OKC Ghost Club and PROS Investigations or a Halloween Hafla hosted by Actively Hostile Enterprises and Banmala Tribal Fusion Dance Company. You can also join the SoonerCon crew in the ConSuite for snacks and spookies.

We’re not even to Saturday!

Starting early Saturday morning, you can find programming on makeup, costuming, music, film, and Gothic goodness. From 9am to 11am, drag out your old decorations for our Halloween Swap Meet. Trade out those old decorations for something a little different.

Oklahoma’s First Hearse and ShockRod Show starts at 1pm in the parking lot, with live music from the Decomposed, Subcity Vamp, Spector 45, Pulpit Red, the RazorBlade Dolls, God in a Machine, and Pittersplatter. There will also be sideshow performances from Carnival of Cleavage and Dell Deadgirl, and an appearance by the Oklahoma Victory Dolls roller derby.

That evening, you check out the art auction and storytelling with Tremblewick before you run off to get ready for the Haunticon Ball, hosted by Darkfaery Subculture Magazine. They will be filming for the Darkfaery Network, so dress to impress.

If the big party isn’t your thing, we’ll be judging for our room party contest Saturday evening, so reserve your room, get out those newly traded decorations and host your own. Winning parties receive 4 weekend memberships to TrickConTreat 2009 and other.

Think Sunday is a boring day at conventions? We’ll change your mind with advanced makeup workshops, digital 3D FX demos, a charity auction to benefit the Bella Foundation, more bands in the afternoon, more films, more bellydancers, and lots of other Halloween goodness to keep you around “just a little longer.”

Don’t miss out! You can get your membership for $30 until Oct. 1st. You can pay online (http://trickcontreat.com/memberships.html) or see us next weekend either at the Oklahoma Victory Dolls bout on Saturday, Sept. 27th (http://www.oklahomavictorydolls.com) or at our final staff and crew meeting at the hotel (Holiday Inn North, 6200 N. Robinson, OKC) at 5pm Sunday, Sept. 28th.

Thank you for supporting us in 2007. Without you, this convention would not be possible. Please join us again to make Halloween 2008 the best holiday season yet!

Ivarr Brokksson
Chair, TrickConTreat 2008
www.trickcontreat.com
info@trickcontreat.com
(405) 436-2446

Posted in Conventions, Darkfaery Network, Events, Halloween, TrickConTreat | No Comments »